Both girls are egging really well now, I even made a quiche, but still the occasional softie popping up. Perhaps they just feel like scrambled egg for supper sometimes.

A couple of days ago I spotted something odd on Angel's leg and from reading around it looks like scaly leg mite. I didn't have any vaseline to hand so I daubed sudocrem on it and rubbed it onto both girls' legs and they left little white footprints on the grass when I let them go. Opinions seem to be divided on whether to apply it daily or weekly but it was so wet today that I couldn't sit outside to let them out so it didn't get done.

~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildrenSpongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Ragslovely bantam girl Phoebeand retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

Great to hear you're getting a regular supply of Minicha eggs now Annie

I suppose apply it daily or every other day in case it washes off, as the idea is that the vaseline suffocates the mites. Dip the legs in oil first, also helps to suffocate them. I've read that you should continue to treat for several weeks as you'll need to kill the eggs off when they hatch too.

Order some ivermectin online - it'll kill the mites and is easy to apply

Ooh, it's been ages since I posted, things have been very busy. In June last year we moved to look after my Mum and the chickies were curled up happily in a small cat basket full of straw for the six hours of my first long (and rather slow) motorway drive. They settled in fine but I was so busy looking after Mum that they didn't get to free range round the garden at all last year.

Mum passed away in December so my job switched to clearing the house which is now on the market. But as I had a little more time my thoughts turned to chickens and I remembered that my original plan was to get some rescue girls while we were here. In January I happened to notice on fsfh fb page that there were three unhomed chickens after the rescue so I offered to take them and former factory workers Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown came to live in the cube that had been languishing in the garage in its boxes.

Florence had a run of softies and now we're getting a regular two eggs a day from the three of them so I think she's the one that's not laying. She's also been very slow regrowing her missing feathers and seems to have filled out less than the other two but she appears generally healthy. Every few weeks we get a run of very crumpled shells for a few days so one of the others is possibly a bit of a stressy girl.

Now they all get lots of garden time, as often as I can have the back door open to keep an ear out for them and whenever the kids are playing outside. They love Mum's flowerbeds (not sure she'd have been quite so keen though). Once Mum's house is cleared we will be moving back to Wales where I shall be looking for a place with a bit of land for more chickens as was my original plan before I Mum was ill.

I've forgotten how to get photos to post from my phone so I'll add some a bit later.

~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildrenSpongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Ragslovely bantam girl Phoebeand retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

Quite a tough year for you. Hope u find the chicken friendly home .. Sure u will. Wales has so many beautiful areas to choose from...I love West Wales! I live near the Gower Coast so when u return to Wales, we'll be neighbours! Happy chook keeping.

Same from me , I am 1/8 welsh , love the bike riding , Houses with 2 foot thick walls and plenty of ground with them, .Happy living .Look to go there many times but family to far from there .Best wishes , keep posting .Bob

My retired working girls seem to be very much retired. I've recently only been getting about four eggs a week from the three of them. I'm a little surprised that it's happened so fast as I only got them in January and from what I've read rescues usually lay for a good bit longer. They seem pretty healthy, no sigh of moulting, and they eat up lots of soaked pellets every morning before I let them free range in the garden so I don't think they're ill or missing any nutrition or anything.

It's not that I mind as I'm perfectly happy not eating eggs if there aren't any but I *may* have to consider getting a few more chickens very soon. Just to keep my partner and kids supplied with enough eggs of course

Angel and Phoebe however are currently in full lay, four or five eggs a week from each of them at the moment!

~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildrenSpongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Ragslovely bantam girl Phoebeand retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

The odd day that they didn't get out until later it was still just one or none so I think they really aren't laying.

I moved them to Wales yesterday so they're now all living in the shed together. I don't think the little girls are enjoying it much yet as they're having to avoid the big girls at much closer range but we got the back gate and fencing all secure today so they'll have lots of free range time now. It's a much smaller and less exciting garden than the last one for now though.

~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildrenSpongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Ragslovely bantam girl Phoebeand retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown

At the moment I am back at Mum's house in St Leonards on Sea and my partner is in charge of the chickens. He is worried that the poor little Minichas are still not having a very good time, mostly sitting up on their shelf (there is food and water up there for them) and seldom getting out of the shed. He isn't watching them all day as he's working 4-5 hours most days but they're there when he goes out and when he gets back. I think I may take the movable omlet fencing when I go back so we can divide the garden a bit, there's just scrubby grass so nowhere to hide behind. Phoebe ended up on the garden fence a couple of times when I was there, I'm glad they can fly out of reach.

The big girls seem to be doing fine. Mark said one was in his kitchen yesterday. There's quite a big flight of steps up to it. Unfortunately he doesn't recognise them by name yet so I don't know which of them it was! The cats were most put out.

My cats seem to be managing to stay out of the way of Mark's cats, mostly outside but upstairs when they're in whereas Mark's mostly stay inside downstairs. Not much actual scrapping and Spongebob and Gus appear to have a truce since they've been there, they were taking swipes at each other every time they walked past when they were here, probably the rivalry is less in a place that Gus doesn't feel is *his* house.

Can't wait for this house to be finished so I can get up there - I miss my girls. I found some creosote in the garage so if it's still good I'm going to do the inside of the ark with it before it goes into storage as there was some evidence of red mites in there. The cube is dismantled and has been well scrubbed, I hope I can get it back in the boxes!

I hope it will be just another couple of weeks here now. I think I've found the ideal guy for the house clearance. He knows people who want everything from 60s cricketing magazines to furniture that charity shops can't sell so most of everything will find a good home rather than being dumped. Big relief, I'd have felt I was failing Mum if all the family bits and bobs were getting thrown away.

~ Annie

Two little kids, one big one and two grandchildrenSpongebob the cat on steroids and Gus who doesn't like him; silly Kittles and sensible Ragslovely bantam girl Phoebeand retired working girls: Florence, Miss McCluck and Mrs Brown